Improvement in shackles or handcuffs



" i UNITED STATES WILLIAM v. ADAMs,

PATENT OFFICE.

OENEW YORK, N. Y.

lM-Pnoi/EMENTiN sHACKLEs QR HANDCUFFS.4

" Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 35,576, dated June 17, 1862. Y

To all" whom it may concern:

`Be it known that I, WILLIAM V. ADAMs,

A of the city, county, and State of New York, haveinvented a ,certain -new and Improvedl Shackle for Oonfining the Wrists and Ankles of Yrisoners; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof,

reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of referencemarked t thereon, in which-` A Figure 1 is a plan, Fig. 2 anendview, and Fig. 3 a sectional plan view.

`The shackle or. handeuff forconfl'ning the wrists and anklesof prisoners at present used consists of aiixed arrangement of given size,

locked or otherwise secured, which does `not y permit of adjustment to allow it to be fitted securely and properly to wrists and ankles of different sizes. The result of its use fora hand orwrist cuff is that in many cases where it is applied the"iron"w can be slipped over and off the wrist of the prisoner, allowing him thereby the free use of his hands to effect his escape, and, for an ankle-cuff, that it induces chaiing andsores `by its movement upon the ankle of theprisoner. f

My improvement isintended to obviate these defects; and it consists in making the shackle adjustable in size, so thatitcan be. fitted to the wrists or ankles of a prisoner,4 however large or small theymaybe, and to t so closely that it willadmit of no,` movement to produce j the chang and/sores above named, while at l the sametime it produces no ill effects in the way of checking the circulation of the blood in thearm or of compressing the shin-bone of theleg. y l r A and B are the two sections of the shackle,

pivoted together at their upper ends to allow them to be moved back and forth, as may be required. In the lower end of the section A is placed the locking Vapparatus C, which consists 0i' a pawl or dog, D, held in contactwith the cuts or notches in the face of the quadrant `part of the section B by means of the rubber spring c, and which is released to unlock the shackle by a key applied to turn back the ,pawl or dog to allow the sectionBto be spread apart or to be withdrawn from the lock. The face of the quadrant part of the section B is itted so closely to the under edge of the lockcase that it is impossible to insert any instrumentsuch as a watch-spring-between them tof release the pawl to unlock the shackle. It is provided with a series of cuts or notches at suitable distances apart for the reception of the pawl or dog D, which allows the shackle to be enlarged or diminished materially in size to fit all sizes of wrists and ankles;

E is a hasp, which is secured by and works upon the pivot that secures the upper ends of of the sections A and B together, and'through 'the eye of which the link of the connecting chain, below described, passes.

The shackles are made in pairs in the ordinarymanner, and are connectedtogether by a chainor other connection, which admits of the necessary degree of change of position of the shackles to each other when in use.

The two sections are so formed at their jointed end, as shown, as to permit them to be closely clasped to the wrist or ankle With.- out impeding the circulation of the blood in the arm or compressing the shin-bone of the leg, while yet they are held from moving so as to produce chafng or sores on the parts covered by them.

As will be seen by the drawings, the shackle is self-locking, the key only being used to un Y.

lock it when it is required to be taken off. It is placed on the wrist or ankle of the prisoner, and the section B is pushed into and through the lock of the section A until Y both closely clasp the wrist o`r ankle,'tlie.pawl or dog D falling into the nearest cut or notch in the face 0I the section B to lock and hold the shackle securely in position.

I claim- The combination of the hasp B with the sections A and B, for the purpose ofallowing to each one of a pair of shackles a 4motion independent of the other when in use, as described.

i, v WM. V. ADAMS. Witnesses:

.FRANCIS S. Low A. MACDONALD, J r. 

